This week I am changing the format a little and providing a snapshot of some of our most recent research, which we presented at the Family Friendly Programming Forum last week in Los Angeles.
Kudos go to Ami Markowitz, Rita Ku, Andy Yap and Stacey Lynn Koerner. (For a copy of the report with graphics, please visit my blog.)
Trends in Television and New Media
The average television program today offers consumers 4.7 (out
of 33 possible) ways to extend their experience in digital spaces. This number is up from an average of 3.3 extensions in the 2004 study. The current rhetoric of “digital commitment” by
programmers belies the actual number of touchpoint offerings that can truly be activated, however. The truth is that across broadcast, cable, and syndication programming, the majority of programs have
between zero and five possible extensions. There are program distributors that are ramping up capabilities quickly and do offer many more than 4 or 5 opportunities--but it isn’t everyone.
Three Areas of High Activity--Broadband, Linear, and Wireless
Broadband Internet enhancement is by far the hottest extension category today. According to our audit
respondents, the number of planned investments in offering broadband Internet enhancements, linear broadcast enhancements, and wireless were expected to increase by the fall of 2006, with wireless
making the most significant gains. By year-end 2006, one in every five programs on television will have some version of a wireless extension.
The Top 10 Touchpoints
A little more than 50% of all the programs measured have a message board extension, the most popular touchpoint available today. Streaming media capabilities follow closely behind message boards as
one of the most common forms of digital content extension. For pay cable content that has typically been without advertising support, streaming media presents a new world of opportunity for
advertisers to reach consumers in content environments previously closed to them. Four of the top 10 touchpoints are expected to be in the wireless category, including mobile wallpapers, ring-tones,
mobisodes, and SMS Polling. These offerings will double over the next six months. As a point of reference, the top ten touchpoints were, in descending order from 10 to 1, SMS polling, mobisodes, live
chat, out-takes, ring-tones, mobile wall papers, e-commerce / show merchandise, MSO FVOD channel distribution, streaming media capability, and finally, message boards.
What Do
Viewers Want?
In addition to looking at how the industry is preparing for a new digital era, we polled 1,000 consumers about their current digital behaviors relative to their
favorite prime-time TV shows. Against the Top 10 touchpoints from our industry audit, 68.6 percent of viewers are currently using none of them. The remaining 31.4 percent of respondents are currently
extending their program experience.
How Families Differ
Households with children (under 18) responded similarly in our study to how households without children did,
with a few noted exceptions. Adult respondents in households with children are much more likely to use online TV fan boards, and are significantly more active in watching streaming episodes or
outtakes. Households without children, conversely, are more amenable to live chat and SMS polling, than those with children. The most distinctive statistic in comparing these two groups comes from the
size of the population that does not engage in any extension behaviors. Greater than 70% (72.4%) of households without children do not engage in any digital efforts to extend their experiences with
their favorite TV shows. This outpaces the same statistic for families by nearly 10 percentage points (63.5%).
You see, it’s not enough just knowing WHERE to locate engaged
audiences. In the new world of continuous, partial attention, you have to know WHY. So ask yourself this, people: Will touchpoint extensions eventually go mass-market and normalize across the entire
audience? Are some extensions more attractive to certain audiences? By genre? Demographic? Tenure? All great questions with no firm answers. But the future sure looks bright. Don’t you
agree? You tell me.